What are the conclusions of the latest edition of the survey „CSR in practice – CCIFP Barometer”?
According to the latest edition of the CSR in practice survey – the barometer of the French-Polish Chamber of Commerce, 2/3 of companies see the impact of phenomena resulting from climate change on their current operations, and 77% of companies are already trying to prevent them. Commitment to environmental protection has been growing among entrepreneurs for several years, although companies still most often take actions aimed at their employees. The study was under the patronage of the Responsible Business Forum and the media patronage of the Odpowiedzialnybiznes.pl portal.
For the sixth time, the French-Polish Chamber of Commerce (CCIFP) conducted a survey on corporate social responsibility activities undertaken by companies in Poland. This year, the survey was expanded to include questions about climate change and its impact on business. 77% of companies declare that they are already conducting activities in this area. Most often they concern the improvement of energy efficiency of the organization (86% of indications), optimization of transport (78%), conducting educational activities (75%), or purchasing energy from renewable sources (56%). Less than half of companies (43%) have a carbon footprint, and only 30% have greenhouse gas emission reduction targets set at the local level (59% of companies set them globally). Half of them want to achieve climate neutrality by 2030, 14% by 2040 and 36% by 2050.
Environmental protection is an area that is becoming more and more important for business every year, but companies most often still take actions aimed at their employees (88% of indications). Most entrepreneurs offer additional social benefits and benefits, access to training programs and the development of professional competences, or introduce a code of ethics. From year to year, the position of employee volunteering is weakening, which is currently being developed in 40% of companies.
In second place are CSR activities addressed to local communities and in the area of environmental protection. Most often, companies take action related to reducing the consumption of raw materials and combating climate change.
The third area of CSR in which companies engage are actions towards their own customers (76%) and concern mainly transparent and simple communication, or improvements in the customer service process, including easier complaints and returns, which may result from the development of the e-commerce market and the transition of many Poles to online shopping. Companies are the least likely to take action against their suppliers and business partners, although compared to 2019, this result increased from 43% to 61%.
This year’s results show that the area of CSR is becoming progressively professionalized. More than 2/3 of companies already have a strategy of activities and conduct reporting. Only 13% of companies do not have a specific department / person who would be responsible for running social and environmental projects, and only 6% of organizations do not have a budget for CSR projects (in 2019 there were 21%). Financial outlays are slightly increasing, and over PLN 100,000 per year is allocated by every fifth company.
Among the reasons for business involvement in the area of CSR, the issue of strengthening the image (72%) invariably remains in the first place. Next is the top-down policy of the entire group (an increase from 30% to 60% since 2019), and only as the third reason respondents indicated the need to conduct business in a responsible way with the environment and society in mind (52%).
Consumers pay attention to CSR activities undertaken by companies, although still to a lesser extent than before the pandemic.
An integral part of the survey are the results of a survey conducted by Havas Media Group Polska on a sample of 1066 adult consumers on their awareness and expectations in the field of CSR activities. Last year’s results differed significantly from those of previous years. Consumers paid less attention to whether companies act ethically and responsibly. This year, we see some rebound, but still the results have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. 43% of respondents pay attention to how the products they buy affect society and ecology (37% last year and 53% before the pandemic), and 68% of consumers believe that companies are ethically obliged to act without harming the environment (56% in 2020 and 73% in 2019).
This year, in addition to standard indicators, consumers’ approach to climate change and the role played by companies and corporations in this area were also analyzed. Consumers blame global warming and climate change primarily on developed countries and large companies and corporations. At the same time, they also expect that it is these entities that will be most involved in counteracting the effects of global warming. Consumers themselves could also support brands that take such actions – nearly half of the respondents would be willing to buy products of brands fighting climate change, and nearly 1/4 – would be willing to pay more for products of such brands.
The CSR survey in practice – a barometer of the French-Polish Chamber of Commerce was conducted among Polish and foreign companies operating in our country in November 2021. 93 organizations took part in it. A complementary study on consumers was conducted at the same time using the CAWI method on a sample of 1066 adult Poles.
The substantive and media partners of the study are m.in: Orange Polska, Veolia Foundation.
Projekt otrzymał dofinansowanie z Norwegii poprzez Fundusze Norweskie 2014-2021, w ramach programu „Dialog społeczny – godna praca”.
